Toy railway



June 5, 1923. 1,457,771

A. R. FERGUSSON TOY RAILWAY Filed July 22, l922 2 Sheets-Sheet l Tergusson June 5, 1923' 1,457,771

A. R. FERGUSSON TOY RAI LWAY Filed July 22, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 5, 1923.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALAN R. FERGUSSON, OF;IBUFFALO, NEW YORK.

TOY RAILWAY.

Application filed July 22,

To all whom it may concern;

Be it lmown that I, ALAN R. FERGUSSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of 8 New York, l1ave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Railways, of

' which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to toy tracks or toy railways, an object thereof being to provide an improved my structure of this character, which will be strong, durable and serviceable in use, and yet which, by virtue of the resent novel structure, may be constructed at a minimum of expense.

' A further object of this invention is to provide a sectional toy railway wherein the ends of the rails of the several sections may be quickly and efiiciently joined and held in alinement in an improved manner, in the present instance this being obtainedby the formation of substantially a resilient or, spring joint. I A further object of this invention is to provide a toy railway wherein a clamping guide is provided for firmly holding between its guide portions the juxtaposed ends of the rails, the -construction being such that the joint may be readily broken, and which also will form an efiicient means for lock ing the ends of the rails in proper alinement.

A further object of this invention is to provide a toy track structure having drawn metal or Wire formed rails mounted on ties preferably of solid metal. and secured thereto as by spot welding, the ties being readily adaptable for the purpose of banking the curves of the track at a minimum of expense and without any special construction.

Other objects of this invention will ap pear in the following description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in the several views and wherein Fig. 1 is a plan view illustrating a part of a sectional track structure embodying certain features of my invention; Fi 2 is a perspective view illustrating the ends of a section and the guide clamp; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan View illustrating a somewhat modified form of construction; Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line H of Fig.3; Fig. 5 15a perspective 1922. Serial No. 576,658.

view illustrating an improved method of banking curves; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary s1de view illustrating a further method of banking the curves; Fig. 7 is a detail'cross sectlon showing a method by which the rails may be secured to the cross ties; and Fig. 8 00 is a 1croIs s section gaken on lines 8-8 of 1g. ig. 9 is-ara entar ers tive view of a modified for rii of wii'eprailf Fig.

10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a clamping member for releasably joining the ends of a pair of rails; Fig. 11 is a cross section illustrating the' clamping member and a rail end to which it is secured; Fig.

12 is a detail view partly in section illustrating a manner in which the rail ends 0 may be releasably joined Fig. 13 is a fragmentary perspective view illustratin a further modified manner of releasably oining the ends of the rails; Fig. 14 is a fra mentary perspective view of a further modified joint; and Fig. 15 is a pe ective view of a further modified joint or the rail ends.

Heretofore in toy railways great difliculty has been encountered in the attempts to provide practicable structures which would have sufiicient stability and firmness to rmit the proper operation of the toy tram A relatively cheap, racticable and efiicient track structure WhlCh will be indestructible has therefore very important and obvious advantages and utility. In toy railwa s heretofore sold on the market, one of the serious objections thereto has been the shaky joints between adjacent track sections, and, due to the lack of stability, the proper operation of the toy trains has been materially impeded. As a result of the presentinvention however shaky joints between the ends of adjacent sections have been eliminated,

andbyvirtue of my invention, a quickly manipulated, effective and firm joint is ob tained which is readily releasable and which will retain the ends of therails inexact alinement and rigidly in position. Furthermore as a result of this invention, a stable indestructible track structure is provided, which may be accomplished by constructing the rails of wire or drawn metal and spot welding these to cross ties of metal formed 1 ofany suitable shape or size. In the present instance the rails are spot-welded to the cross ties, this construction readily and easily aecom lished at a minimum of expense-althoug of course it is understood that this invention is not limited to the manner in which the rails are secured to the ties. Furthermore where the metal ties are wire formed the construction is such that the track at the curves can be easily and inexpensively banked, in the present instance certain of the ties or rails being integrally banked at predetermined ints on the curve bymeans of downward y extending lugs or projections.

In its present preferred form this improved toy railway comprises a suitable foundation or supporting means, which may comprise s aced metal cross ties 9. As illustrated in ig. 1 these ties may if desired be stamped or otherwise formed from sheet metal and designed to simulate wood or as shown in Fig. 2 the ties may be cylindrical or wire formed. Thus it is obvious that the cross ties may be formed in any suitable shape or size as may be desired. Secured to the metal cross ties 9 are rails 10, two being shown in the present instance, although of course it is understood that this invention contemplates the use where desired of a third rail when the structure is adapted for electrical toy trains. The rails 10 in the present instance are cylindrical and solid and are also preferably formedof drawn metal. Thus the rails 10 may be wire formed as herein shown and are preferably spot-welded at 11 to the several ties 9.v As a result of this construction wherein wire rails are spot-welded to metal ties it will be seen that a very rigid structure is provided which will stand the hardest usage without destruction.

The free ends of the rails of adjacent sec tions are adapted to be joined and held together as in the preferred form by means of a guide or clamp plate 12, which may comprise a stamped out plate of sheet metal bent at the opposite ends 13 thereof to provide guide portions adapted to receive the ends 14 of the rails 10. In the present instance these guide portions 13 are curved in order to correspond to the curvature of the rails and it will be seen that the plate forms substantially a channeled guide adapted to receive the ends of the rails. In the present instance the two ends 15 of the rails of one section are spot welded at 16 to the guide plate or clamp 12, although of course it is understood that they may be secured in any other suitable manner. The opposite ends 14 of the rails of the section may be spread outwardly from the end cross tie 16. Hence in order to fit the ends of the rails between the guide portions 13 as shown in Fig. 1, it is necessary to press the ends 14 of the rails together. In other words at each joint two of the rails may be rigidly secured to the clam plate 12 and the other two rail ends may e contracted into position, thus forming a resilient or spring joint whiohcan be quickly released by pressing the rail ends 14 inward] so as to clear the inner edges of the guid e portions 13. These guides 13 prevent lateral and vertical movement of the ends of the rails, and in order to prevent the sections from pulling apart longitudinally, the ends 14 may be interlocked with the clamp guide 12 by any suitable means, such as lugs and openings. As shown in the drawings, projections or lugs 17 are formed at the ends of the rails which are insertable into openings 18 in the plate 12. If desired the plate 12 may be provided with lugs and the rails 14 with openings to receive them. It will be noted that the curved guide portions 13 (Fi 8) do not extend upwardly beyond the horizontal plane through the upper surface of the rails 10, and hence by this construction the wheels 19 of the trains do not engage the guide clamps.

As illustrated in Fig. 3 the rails 10 may be of the same structure as hereinbefore described, but when mounted on a continuous foundation such as fiber board or the like it may be preferable to spot weld the rails as at 20 to wire rivets 21 extending through the platform 22. The joint between the juxtaposed ends of the rails of adjacent sections is obtained in substantially the same manner as hereinbefore described with the exception that the ends of the platform ma be interlocked by means of a swinging hook 23 connected to one section 24 and adapted to hook into an aperture or hole 25 in the guide or clamp plate 12. The hook 23 is preferably a combined vertically and horizontally swinging hook, and if desired may be connected to the section 24 as by means of a ball and socket joint 27. In this case therefore, instead of the ends 14 of the rails 10 being directly interlocked with the guide plate 12, the ends of the platform sections themselves are interlocked through the medium of the guide plate 12. Thus however the adjacent sections are releasably retained in position by suitable connections operative through the medium of the clamp guide 12.

In order to bank at the curves the outer rail of the structure shown in Fig. 3, it is merely necessary if desired to swage lugs or projections 28 at suitable points on the outer rail, which lugs projecting between the rail and the support, will raise the rail the desired distance at the curves. In order to bank the structure shown in Fig. 1 it is only necessary to swage or form downwardly extending lugs or projections 29 at the outer ends of the metal ties 9. Thus these projections 29 act to elevate the outer rail at the curves, thereby forming a very effective bank.

It will be understood that by describing in detail herein, any particular form, structure or arrangement, it is not intended to limit,-

the invention beyond the terms of the several claims or the requirements of the prior art.

In Figs. 9 to 12 inclusive I have illustrated a further modified form of construction, the same however embodying the principle of a tension or spring joint at the ends of certain of the rails. In this instance how- 'ever the interlocking of the ends of the rails is obtained through the medium of the rails themselves instead of through the medium of a clamp plate. The rails may be formed of wire rolled out to the shape shown in Fig. 9, the rolling of the concave faces 36 increasing the height of the rails without at the same time requiring a larger wire or more material, the rails also having top and bottom curved faces or surfaces which will enable either to be used as a traction surface, the curvature of the wire providing an effective traction surface. In joining the free ends of rails 30 and 31, one of the rails as 31 is provided with a section 32 projecting beyond the end of the rail and which may be formed by sawing in half a roundwire so that the curved face 33 thereof will fit into the concave face 34 of the wire rail 31. This section 32 is spot-welded at 35 to the rail 31 and forms substantially a guide clamp adapted to 'fit into the concave face 36 of the rail 30 when the two rails are juxtaposed. The two rails may be interlocked so as to prevent relative endwise movement by means of a projection 37 inched from the extension 32 and an opening 38 formed in the rail 30. It will be seen that in joining the ends of the rails the rail 31 will be ten sioned in order to permit the projecting lug 37 to clear the face 36 of rail 30 before becoming seated in recess 38. Thus it will be seen that the concave face 36 of one rail receives the convex face of the opposite rail and the spring pressure of the rail ends, which is outwardly in this case, insures the required lateral alinement of the adjoining rail ends.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 13 a spring joint between the ends of the rails is also provided but the rails are interlocked by means of a sliding locking joint. The ends of rails 39 are spot welded at 40 to a metal cross plate 41 and the opposed rails 42 are spot-welded at 43 to metal ties 44. The free ends of the juxtaposed ends are slabbed off at 45 to provide mating projections and recesses, the faces of the projections being formed at an angle to the vertical and also being tapered in the direction of their length. Thus in this case also the free spring ends of the rails 42 will be tensioned or contracted when joining the ends together, and the angular character of the slabbed ofi' projections 45 will insure a firm and rigid jointadapted to resist relative movement of the rails,

In Fig. 14 the ends 46 and 47 of the o posed rails are also cut away to provi e mating projections and recesses 48. In this instance the rails are interlocked by means of projections 49 struck up from the clamp plate 50 and adapted to extend into grooves in rails 46. In Fig. 15 the joint between the rails 51 and 52 may be substantially the same as in Fig. 14, but in this instance the interlocking means comprises a rib 53adapted to project into a recess 54, both the rib and recess being formed on the slabbed 0E ends of the rails.

It will be noted that in the present toy railway the wire rails of adjacent sections are so held or maintained, in substantial prolongation by means which permits the rails to be easily and quickly released and assembled by hand. Furthermore the wire rails are supported free or independently of any lengthwise tension. Nor are they supported by virtue of any lengthwise stretching, and the wires as a result are adapted to form a rigid bearing medium which will not sag so as to result 1n the danger of the trains running off the rails. The wire ties are also rigid so as to form with the rigid wire rails, a rigid, strong, and serviceable structure.

By the term wire as used herein and in the claims is meant a material commonly designated as such in the art as distinguished from rods or bars. In practice, the rails and ties of this invention are constructed of wire about of an inch in diameter and of a size capable of receiving or forming a traction surface for the small flanged wheels of a toy train, and obviously anything exceeding approximately a half inch diameter or gage would not be ordinarly practicable or operative for toy rails and ties.

I claim as my invention:

1. A toy railway comprising supporting means, rails mounted thereon and means for joining the ends of certain rails by placing a rail under tension.

2. A toy railway comprising sectional supporting means, rails mounted thereon, and means for joining under spring tension the ends of rails of adjacent sections, said means including a guide plate secured to a rail.

3. A toy railway comprising sectional supporting means, rails mounted thereon, and a tension joint between certain rails.

4. In a toy railway, the combination of a pair of wire rails forming a rigid bearing medium, and means for maintaining said rails in substantial prolongation, said means permittin the rails to be manually released and assem led.

5. A toy railway comprising metal ties, wire formed rails secured thereto, and a spring formed joint between certain connecting rails.

6. In a toy railway the combination of two pairs of rails adapted to be joined at their ends, means for oining the same by placing at least one rail under tension, and interlocking means for holding the rails in position.

7. A toy railway comprising supporting means, a rail secured thereto, and having a free end extending out of alinement with the major portion thereof.

8. A toy railway comprising wire formed supporting ties, and wire formed rails welded thereto.

9. In a toy railway, the combination of a pair of sections including each a pair of connected spaced wire rails forming a rigid bearing medium, and means for maintaining certain of said rails in substantial prolongation, said means permitting the rails to be manually released and assembled.

10. A toy railway comprising metal ties and wire formed rails secured thereto.

11 In a toy railway the combination of metal ties, drawn metal rails secured thereto,

and means for joining the ends of the rails by tensioning a ra1l.

12. In a sectional toy railway the combination of wire ties, metal rails secured thereto, and releasable interlocking means for the ends of the sections and normally operative to prevent relative endwisemovement of the rails.

13. In a toy railway the combination of. supporting means, wire rails secured thereto, connecting means secured to a rail and having a part thereof constructed to receive the juxtaposed end of another rail.

14. In a toy railway the combination of supporting means, drawn metal rails secured thereto, connecting means secured to the ends of a pair of rails and constructed to receive the ends of an adjacent pair of rails, said latter rail ends being flexed to form with said connecting means a spring joint.

15. In a sectional toy railway the combination of metal ties, wire formed rails spot welded thereto, and connecting'means secured to the end of a rail and having means for releasably locking another rail in position.

16; In a toy railway the combination of two pairs of juxtaposed rails and means for connectin the juxtaposed ends thereof, one of the rafi ends adapted to be tensioned to form with said connecting means a spring joint.

17. In a toy railway the combination of two pairs of ju taposed rails and means for connecting the juxtaposed ends thereof, at least one of the rail ends adapted to be flexed to form with said connecting means a spring joint, and interlocking means between the rails and the connecting means.

18. In a toy railway the combination of two pairs of juxtaposed rails and means for connectin the juxtaposed ends thereof, a pair of rail ends adapted to be flexed to form with said connecting means a spring joint,

pair. and having means for receiving the ends of another pair, said ends adapted to be tensioned to form with said clamp a spring joint, and means comprising projections and openings carried one by the clamp and one by said rail ends for interlocking said rails together.

20. In a toy track structure the combination of metal ties, wireformed rails secured thereto, and means for banking the track at a curve and comprising downwardly extending metal projections.

21. In a toy track structure the combination of wire formed ties, wire formed rails secured thereto, and means for banking the track at a curve and comprising downwardly extending metal projections.

22. In a toy railway the combination of a plurality of miniature track sections adapt-' ed to be detachably joined together, a pair thereof having rails adapted to be placed with the ends thereof juxtaposed, means for releasably holding the ends in alinement and comprising means for clamping the rail ends and through the medium of which means the rails are locked in position one of the rail ends being held under tension.

23. In a toy track structure the combination of wire formed ties, rails secured thereto, and means for banking the track at a curve and comprising a projection depending from a tie.

24:. The combination of metal supporting means and wire rails welded thereto, one of said rails having a resilient free end.

25. The combination of supporting means and wire rails secured thereto, one of' said rails having a free spring end.

26. In a toy railway, the combination of rigid wire formed ties, rails carried thereby, and means for releasably retaining in juxtaposition the ends of a pair of rails.

27. In a toy railway, a plurality of track sections, each comprising a pair of connected wire rails, the juxtaposed ends of a pair of sections having a tensioned joint.

28. In a toy railway, the combination of wire formed ties, and rails welded thereto.

29. In a toy railway, the combination of a support forming sections adapted to be detachably held together end to end, and miniature rails having curved top and bottom surfaces and secured to said support at a plurality of points.

30. In a toy railway, the combination of wire formed ties, rails carried thereby, and means for banking a rail at a curve.

31. A toy railway comprising a pair of spaced wire rails, and supporting means extending crosswise of the rails and to which said ralls are in use fastened for supporting them free of lengthwise tension, said means and rails forming a readily portable structure.

32. A toy railway comprising a plurality of knockdown sections, each comprising supporting means, and spaced wire rails connected to said supporting means, said sections forming a portable structure adapted to be readily knocked down and assembled.

33. Ina toy' railway the combination of wire formed ties and wire formed rails secured thereto.

34. A track structure for toy railways comprising cross tie means and rails, the latter constructed of wire about of an inch in diameter and not exceeding approximately a half inch in diameter.

35. A track structure for toy railways comprising cross ties and rails, each constructed of wire about of an inch in diameter and not exceeding approximately half an inch in diameter.

Signed at Room 1822 Park Row Bldg, New York city, January, 1922. a

ALAN R. FERGUSSON.

New York, this 28..day of p 

